Part of passing the required class to become a supervisor is writing this paper called Philosophy of Supervision. It will tell you what I intend if we enter into a contract for supervision.
Again, if you want to contact me about supervision, please text me at 775-525-5353 or email me at tony@hope4family.com
Philosophy of Supervision
Evidence of Systemic Thinking
Systemic thinking is imperative in therapy for couples and families as well as individuals (Stanton & Welch, 2012), and is the backbone of my practice professionally. Clinton and Ohlschlager (2002) stated that the function of systems therapy was to think beyond the individual as a person, client, therapist or supervisee and to see the system in which they live, and supervisees need to realize the same perspective in their own case conceptualization and understanding of the individuals involved. I will stress this very vital understanding in supervision and help the supervisee to understand the full potential of understanding individuals, couples, and families considering their systems. It has been my experience that no one stands alone and even when alienated from families of origin they have experienced role-modeling and interactions in their systems, good and bad, all of which have affected the way they relate to others. As a supervisor, I will teach systemic thinking in case conceptualization with supervisees and in the interactions and communications with counselor trainees and their clients.
The Approved Supervision Designation: Standards Handbook (2023) states Marriage and Family Therapists work from a systemic perspective which is different from those therapies that concentrate efforts on the individual. This is true not only of counseling practitioners and their clients, but also me as I work to make a positive and productive impact on supervisees. Lee and Nelson (2022) state that most supervisees will embrace systemic thinking once it is presented considering their own work, so it shouldn’t be difficult to bring trainees into this way of thinking. The effects of the systems in which people live is seen in every session I have experienced with clients and thus therapeutic goals to improve the lives of individuals has most often come from working from systems theory. So, training in awareness of and practice of systemic thinking will be evident in practically every session of the supervision I conduct.
Clarity of Purpose and Goals for Supervision Including Documentation and Contracts
Goals are necessary to the supervisor/supervisee relationship and carry over into the practice of the supervisee. Morgan and Sprenkle (2007) state the goal of supervision is to help the supervisee acquire skills, adapt a healthy attitude, and gain a working knowledge to be an effective therapist. Long-term goals will include development of core competencies discussed by Lee and Nelson (2022) not limited to intervention techniques, therapeutic models, and self-of-the-therapist practice. Each has its importance to helping to ensure client care and will be addressed in supervision.
As time progresses opportunities will arise to speak to deficiencies and areas the supervisee needs improvement. This will be addressed in group supervision if it is beneficial to the supervisee and other trainees or privately if it is a more sensitive matter. Then goals will be set to focus the trainee’s efforts on any improvements that need to be made.
I agree with Grater (1985) speaking of the stages or phases of progression in supervision. I will encourage the growth process from a trainee who has skills and grow them to the skilled therapist why want to be. Part of this process will be applied theory and discussion of cases. Some of this will come through the process of working with clients and understanding what works and what does not. As supervisees spend time in supervision, I will foster and environment where older therapists will help train the younger ones having experienced cases of their own.
The goals of supervision will be included in a contract signed by the supervisee and reiterated in the interview process prior to supervision taking place. Contracting the supervisor and supervisee relationship is vital to the process of supervision as it lays out the goals, ethics, and legal requirements of the relationship as well as covers monetary requirements for the working relationship. Lee and Nelson (2022) state that to avoid problems, a supervisor is wise to preclude misunderstandings with a contract.
Clarity of Supervisory Roles and Relationships
The supervisory roles and relationships are such that the supervisor is a mentor to the supervisee as well as a gatekeeper to the profession and roles will include clinical educator, skill development coach, ethics/risk management consultant, catalyst, gatekeeper, organizational/administrative supervisor, personal supporter, professional mentor, and advocate/system change agent (Lee & Nelson, 2022). I believe a supervisor must teach in his/her areas of expertise, work from a specific supervisory model, avoid dual relationships, regularly evaluate the candidate’s competence, be available for the supervisee, and be a truthful and careful professional (Allanach, 2009). I will strive to collaborate with my supervisees establishing a rapport with them that fosters teamwork and loyalty so that therapist trainees will not only work hard to be a good therapist but will want to help protect my license as a supervisor. Isomorphically, this will help train the supervisees to do the same with their clients engendering a climate in their sessions of collaboration as well.
As a teacher and coach, it will be my intention to keep abreast of any changes in state law and new developments in counseling theory so that they can be discussed with supervisees. While group supervision is in progress and supervisees are presenting cases or going over videos of counseling sessions, it will be an opportunity to provide coaching and mentoring to those individuals.
Lee and Nelson (2022) state that it is not the job of the supervisor to do therapy with the supervisee's clients, but to help develop skills in their trainees. Therefore, it is imperative that supervisors not do client therapy, but instead focus on the therapist or supervisee and the way in which they are conducting therapy.
Awareness of Personal and Professional Experiences that Impact Supervision
As a supervisor it will be important that I am aware of my own experiences as they relate to or compare to supervisee’s lives. It will be paramount to the supervision process to be aware of the feelings that are brought on by countertransference in both my own and the supervisee’s experience. Altucher (1967) says even the venue of the process affects feelings and countertransference. When working with candidates in supervision it will be important to respectfully address feelings whether it is in private or as a means of teaching the group. So, if there is doubt as to whether the supervisee may or may not be embarrassed by such an interaction, steps will be taken to speak to the person in private. Lee and Nelson (2022) make a case that supervisory relationships be built on trust, and the supervisee must know the supervisor is looking out for them. As time progresses, it will be a goal in the short term to help the supervisee realize a trusting relationship whilst processing and teaching is taking place, and in the long term it will be important to relay that this professional relationship is not one that is meant to harm them.
I have not experienced the kinds of treatment others may have felt and in order to address any impact this may have on supervision, those who have will be given opportunity to speak about it as to help address any feelings they may have toward me or others in the group. Whether this is done in private or in the group setting to benefit the group, I will make it a concern to address to help alleviate any problems which may arise.
Preferred Supervision Model and Connection Between Own Therapy Model and Supervision
I will be integrative in practice and in theory with supervisees because Lee and Nelson (2022) state it will be a unique situation in each supervisor/supervisee combination, and it will take different approaches to work in each one. I intend to approach each supervisee differently believing that individuals who are learning or favoring a perspective that they see as being effective for counseling should practice that theory in sessions and discuss those sessions from that perspective in supervision. So, isomorphically I will teach from the same kind of eclectic perspective.
“Supervision is an individualized lesson plan tailored to the strengths and weaknesses of the supervisee” (Clinton & Ohlschlager, 2002). This reinforces the idea that supervisees must be allowed to explore the theory with which they most readily identify to help them grow and learn from their own perspective and establish that perspective as a working theory of counseling. So, I will attempt to use this informative aspect in my own supervision.
While the ideas and input from the supervisor may be helpful at times, it will be good to primarily focus on the theoretical perspective of the supervisee to promote and establish it in the mind of the counselor in training. Again, collaboratively working toward core competencies, I will focus on fleshing out and developing the working theory of the supervisees.
I spent the years of supervision I had with a group of other therapists in training that are a part of my life today. The group sessions we had gave plenty of opportunity for training while also engendering an environment of support and comradery. Training works in both direct and indirect ways (Lee & Robert, 2000). To me this means that those in supervision will benefit differently from different approaches, gleaning some from one while more from another approach. While speaking on a topic to one supervisee, another may benefit from the interaction and the information disseminated through that interaction. It is my desire to bring about this same kind of environment in the group and inspire supervisees to form groups throughout their career which will offer support and growth as a professional.
Sensitivity to Contextual Factors such as Developmental Phase of Trainee, Training Setting, Culture, Ethnicity, Race, Sexual Orientation, age, sex, gender, economics, and so forth
Certain contextual factors will be important to the task of supervision. Regarding diversity and inclusivity, DeAngelis (2023) expresses disappointment in the progress made so far in our profession. This area of supervision and other counseling is in the infant stages when it comes to our addressing it and more of a focus to get to a place where issues can be resolved. Power inherent in the process of supervision must be something I am aware of in training (DeAngelis, 2023). It will be important to understand this in the process of supervision so that those working toward licensure will feel comfortable and be able to express any concerns. This will be incredibly important to address before the signing of any contracts. I will, as DeAngelis (2023) describes, try and make the supervisee feel as though any situation which they find concerning has been discussed prior to that signing. I will work hard to be inclusive and to address issues of implicit biases and micro aggressions prior to starting supervision to address any inherent discrepancies in inclusion and diversity and put supervisees at ease and be open to criticisms that may arise to help foster inclusivity (Lee & Nelson, 2022).
Clarity of Preferred Process of Supervision
My preferred process of supervisor will be through group interaction. Valentino et al (2016) makes a case that group supervision can be instrumental in establishing critical skills for supervisee's profession including peer feedback and public speaking. Beyond the training supervisees get from their education, group supervision allows for the bonding and support of peer supervisees within the group. Lee and Nelson (2022) make the argument that group supervision may be beneficial in cases where there are concerns with one-on-one counseling. It is that it is in a more public arena, it makes the relationship less intimate, and a rapport becomes apparent to both the supervisor and the group. I believe that beyond these benefits group encounters can affect a supervisee’s career for years and can benefit the therapists and the clients they serve. A comradery and cohesiveness become evident in group sessions, and it makes for a great working environment. An atmosphere of acceptance and support will be the goal of the group supervision, so that those in supervision will feel comfortable speaking about cases, clients, and therapy, and can expect understanding and support from their group peers through the supervision process. Counselors in training will be asked to use fictitious names for clients in the group sessions (even though they will be using a consent form with clients which states they are under supervision) to address confidentiality.
To see the supervisees in action, live sessions will be observed through cameras in counseling offices after notifying the supervisee. After obtaining proper informed consent, therapists in training record sessions for viewing at some later time. Then, as a mentor and coach, I will help the supervisee to understand any deficits or offer suggestions to help him/her to do therapy more efficiently. In any case, supervisees will have ample opportunity to be critiqued and studied while they do therapy. Periodically, evaluative forms and progress documents will be filled out and reviewed with the supervisee.
Sensitivity to Ethics and Legal Factors
Supervisees will be required to understand the NRS codes in this state regarding counseling and confidentiality as well as know the reporting requirements as a mandated reporter. The AAMFT Code of Ethics will be discussed in group counseling and discussions will be had in group sessions about the ethics involved in counseling. I will have a few minutes of our group sessions in which we will speak about a vignette or two wherein the ethics of the matter will be addressed.
As a supervisor, I will be cognizant of the inherent presence of power making any suggestion of personal relationships of any kind other than the professional one inappropriate. Lee and Nelson (2022) state the supervisor relates to the supervisee from a position of power because of the responsibility of gatekeeping and evaluation. As such, boundaries will be kept in place to keep the relationship professional, and while we will work together collaboratively, any suggestion of personal relationships will be avoided.
Counselors in training need to show competency in their attitudes and knowledge. From and ethical viewpoint, counselors in training will need to demonstrate competency in their skills and knowledge and Avashthi et al (2022) state that they must understand how they affect themselves and the client. So, supervisees will be taught to have professional attitudes and conduct themselves accordingly as well as understanding the importance of core competence.
Finally, Lee and Nelson (2022) maintain that the AAMFT Code of Ethics warns about the potential for exploitation of supervisees or counselees in ways not limited to sexual harassment and intimacy, so I will be constantly vigilant to keep the relationship between myself and supervisees a professional one although sessions may become emotionally charged.
References
Allanach, R. C. (2009). Role of mentor in the context of clinical supervision. Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association, 12(2), 40-43.
Altucher, N. (1967). Constructive use of the supervisory relationship. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 14(2), 165-170.
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. (2023). Approved supervision designation: Standards handbook. doi:https://www.aamft.org/Documents/Supervision/2020_AS_Documents/AShandbook07-2020edits.pdf
Avashthi, A., Grover, S., & Nischal, A. (2022). Ethical and legal issues in psychotherapy. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 64(1), 47-61.
Clinton, T., Ohlschlager, G. (2002). Competent Christian counseling: Foundations & practices of compassionate soul care. Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook Press.
DeAgelis, T. (2023). Increasing supervisor savvy around culture, race, and identity. Monitor on Psychology, 54(1), 34.
Grater, H. A. (1985). Stages in psychotherapy supervision: From therapy skills to skilled therapist. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 16(5), 605.
Lee, Robert E., Nelson, Thomas S. (2022). The comtemporary relational supervisor (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Morgan, M. M. & Sprenkle, D. H. (2007). Toward a common-factors approach to supervision. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 33(1), 1-17.
Stanton, M., Welsh, R. (2012). Systemic thinking in couple and family psychology. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, 1(1), 14-30.
Valentino, A. L., LeBlanc, L. A., & Sellers, T. P. (2016, Dec). The benefits of group supervision and a recommended structure for implementation. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 9(4), pp. 320-328.
